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How long had it been since he had been back this way he found himself thinking as he adjusted his cloak around himself as he walked along. It had been a while but he was glad to be back, there was much to do after all in these parts but when work called him away there was nothing he could do but answer that call. In a distance province one privileged brat had decided that he wasn't getting nearly spoiled enough so he wanted his competition 'dealt with' through means that looked like an accident. Those were always the most difficult things to set up. He much preferred a quick in and out where he let his blades do the talking, but he wasn't so lucky this time around. No matter though, he'd been well compensated for his time and effort, enough so that he could probably go on for some time without taking on another job and live quite well... not that he would do that. He knew full well that if he slacked off for even a moment that his skills could rust and if his skills rusted then there would be another out there that would come forth to take his spot. It wasn't something that he would allow to happen, he hadn't fought as hard as he had, trained as hard as he had, for nothing.

"Why is it that every time you finish a job we have to come to one of these places." Came the ever complaining tone of the smaller, also cloaked, form of the person walking along side him. Dao Ye Shou looked down at the boy before he gave a chuckle, one that just seemed to cause the little dragon to get that much more annoyed, "I'm serious! I don't see what you see in these places!" What was so good enough these places? Sure at times the wealth of the places interested him, not to mention some of the trinkets that the women wore, but other then that he didn't care for them. The scent of the place alone annoyed him, it was far to overpowering if you asked him... not that his fool of a guardian ever did. Instead he was dragged around from place to place, forced to wait in the lobby or to wander around town with a bit of coin to entertain himself with.

Lifting a large, work roughened hand he patted Fu Ts'ang on the head, "Come now, today will be different. I think that the one I will be meeting with will actually interest even a spoiled little brat like you." Though if the boy were spoiled that was all his fault, wasn't it? He did tend to give the kid whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He just wanted to make sure that his dragon was content was all. His brother had a dragon, one that he had marked with his blade, and in kind he had to have one of his own so that they would remain on equal footing. Unlike his brother though he wasn't going to haphazardly throw his into the middle of danger where he could be killed, not yet anyhow. He was slowly teaching the boy things he would need to know, like the use of a blade, but he wouldn't be throwing him against someone dangerous any time soon. He wondered at times if his fool of a brother regretted the fact that he had nearly gotten his own dragon killed... he hoped so. He hoped that he caused his brother many regrets he thought to himself before he gave pause before the brothel that he and Fu Ts'ang were visiting today.

"This is the place." He said, stepping inside before he pulled back the hood of his cloak, looking around for a moment to see if he spotted the one he was wanting to meet with. When he didn't see his little flower around straight away he moved toward one of the women to strike up a conversation with her, as well as to see where Qiu Shui was and if he could buy another night of the boy's time.

While the man went about making arrangements Fu Ts'ang found himself looking around the brothel that they had just entered and yet again he just didn't get it. Lots of fancy women, all of them ignoring him in favor of sidling up to his guardian, and again it smelled in a way that had him rubbing at his nose. He didn't like these places, or the ones that worked in them, he felt that there was something wrong here, as though all of the people that ignored him should in fact be serving him. While he remembered little of his past life, something he was told by Dao Ye Shou that he'd had, he did know that before he was someone, or something, that commanded respect. As such being ignored and looked over just irked him and made him want to lash out... something he didn't do. The last time he had, having been annoyed at how one of these women was treating him, patting him on the head like he were some normal brat, Dao Ye Shou had punished him. If there was something he never wanted again it was that. As such, despite his utter dislike of these people, he did his best to behave.

Pulling his cloak more tightly around himself the pink haired dragon leaned against the wall just inside the brothel and waited. Dao Ye Shou told him that he would be interested in the one that they would be meeting with. While he doubted it very highly he would wait and see, then when he was disappointed by the half dressed floozy that was sure to be bouncing around them, he would merely ask for some coin and go find something to do that was actually of interest to him.

To say that Fu Ts'ang was surprised would be quite an understatement as he starred at the long haired beauty that came into the room with the tray of tea. So this was who they were coming here to meet? This was completely unexpected, he'd almost thought that he would find himself across from some painted up tart but instead it was someone that he actually found to be tolerable... no, more then that. He actually liked the looks of this person, it reminded him a bit of when he met the golden haired street vendor expect that this one seemed already as though he had far better manners. It was strange, he'd never thought that someone like this would in a place like this. Not to mention the way that his guardian was acting, he seemed to be quite pleased with the meeting with this one, didn't he? In turn the one that they were meeting with seemed to be quite pleased to see Dao Ye Shou as well, strange.

Dao Ye Shou smiled at the boy that came to kneel before him and he gave a smile, shifting his weight so that he was no longer laying back in a lazy manner and instead sat up and forward to better look over the pretty flower he'd met some time back when Fu Ts'ang was still a tiny lotus, "I am sad to hear that you didn't believe I would return to you, my little flower. Here I thought that our time together meant as much to you as it did me." Which it really did, he'd learned much from him and had pleased him to no end. Meeting with this pretty flower, one that it would seem was quite attached to his brother's dragon, had been such a wonderful thing. Still, much to his personal surprise he found himself wanting to meet with Qiu Shui again for reasons other then where his brother and the blue dragon were concerned. It wasn't even due to the fact that he'd told Qiu Shui that he wanted for Fu Ts'ang to meet with him. If anything it was just that he wanted to meet with him.

Reaching out to Qiu Shui, Dao Ye Shou took the boy's hands carefully in his own, lifted them up, and pressed a kiss to each one, "That you would spare me even a little of your time is something that I find to be quite a gift, my little flower." He told him in a honest tone before his dark eyes turned to look over toward the pink haired dragon who was starring at them with a surprised expression. It really wasn't too often that Fu Ts'ang saw his guardian wooing someone so the man understand why he might be a bit shocked, "Yes, this is my little dragon king, I have given him the name Fu Ts'ang." He told the pretty brothel worker before looking at his ward, "Fu Ts'ang, this is the friend I was telling you about." He said, watching as Qiu Shui bowed to Fu Ts'ang, introducing himself to the younger lotus child. This was good, Fu Ts'ang could use a friend of his own kind, one worthy of him.

Fu Ts'ang starred for a long moment, his brightly colored eyes starring at Qiu Shui, taking in the way that he was bowing in such a sweet and sincere manner, and it caused his lips to turn up into a bit of a smile, "It is good to meet you, Qiu Shui, I have been curious about you, what with the way my guardian speaks of you." He said, hand itching to reach out to tough that dark colored hair of his but he refrained. If he got too grabby his guardian might disapprove since he seemed to like this one more the most of those whose time he bought.

Fu Ts'ang shifted in place, starring at the other boy for a long moment, before he gave a bit of a smile. This one was good at divvying out compliments and it would appear as though the dragon had a weakness for them. It was strange, as the other held his hands to his chest he couldn't help but to enjoy the feeling of nostalgia even though he didn't think he'd ever felt such a thing before with him. Was it because they had met while he was still in the form of a lotus? Such a strange thing... he couldn't say that he dislike the feeling though, the link between them was a nice, warm feeling. A feeling that was soon gone as the other withdrew from him so that he could set about pouring the tea that he brought in with him, "Tea sounds good." He murmured, finding it amusing that he had met two others like himself thus far in his time and both of them had ended up serving him tea. It was a coincidence that he had to admit to appreciating, finding that he was quite the fan of tea.

Shifting back he watched as Qiu Shui set to work on the tea, while offering wine to Dao Ye Shou. Turning to look at his guardian he found himself wondering what it was that he might be thinking. Were they going to be staying long enough for wine? He couldn't say for certain, when Dao Ye Shou had been making arrangements with those in charge of the meetings in this place he wasn't paying any attention. Instead he was looking around, watching various people flirting it up, gifts and coin being exchanged, and the women as they preened and posed, trying to get picked it would seem, "Are we staying long, Dao Ye Shou?" He asked of his guardian, wanting to know what it was that the man was planning. Was it just tea? Or was there more to it?

The man looked over at the pink haired dragon that was starring at him in a questioning manner, then back to Qiu Shui, giving a bit of a smile, "I've given them the asking price for a night of my pretty flower's time, as such we can stay for as long as we like until the sun rises and we are kicked out." He said with a chuckle. Resting his hands on his lap he said, "I don't mind having a bit of wine, it's been a while since I could relax with a nice drink and some good company. Work of late has been a bit of a strain." He said, glad that he could finally just laze about for a while. It wouldn't be for long, he wasn't the sitting still, doing nothing sort, but he would take at least this night off before he headed back out, ready to hock his skills to those rich enough to pay his fee. There was so much that the hired sword could be thinking about, and given that he was with Qiu Shui there was much that he should be thinking about, but he didn't feel his normal drive for it. Odd how easy it was to forget his b*****d of a brother was likely skulking the streets of this town somewhere when he was with this sweet little flower.

"I hope that you don't mind us taking up your whole night, I would hate to think that you might be missing out on some of your favored customers because I am being selfish with you." He said, giving the boy a smile as he reached out to stroke his fingertips against Qiu Shui's dark, silky hair. He lied quite smoothly, his words believable enough when he said that he hated to come between the boy and his customers. It was far from the truth since he was glad to be able to get this one for a full night. This was a nice place to rest, relax, and unwind after all and the company before him made it even more so. He couldn't help but wonder what Fu Ts'ang was thinking though since the boy was just starring at him, giving him a long look at the moment. He'd ignore it for the moment, the spoiled child needed to learn that Dao Ye Shou was in charge after all, even if the boy figured he should be given what he was.

"Must be that we share a love for your beautiful hair, though likely only because it's such a beautiful extension of you." He said, giving a bit of a smile before he fell quiet, watching the way that Qiu Shui set about swaying around to fetch the various things that he was putting on his tray, something that caused his lips to turn up a bit. Was it just him or was he getting more attractive each time he came to visit? Probably a dangerous thing, the boy had already been interesting to him, something that was catching his attention and getting under his skin, now here he was swaying about in a manner that he was sure was meant to tempt him. He was going to have to be careful with him or else he might end up botching the mission that he was currently on, the one in which this beautiful boy was the bait... though already he was starting to be swayed, such a bother. At least as bother as far as the mission went, when it just came to his time with the boy it was far less of a bother he thought to himself, giving a bit of a smile when the boy returned.

When the boy started to describe his three favored customers, the third being a technicality, he seemed to be listening closely. He would bet that the one buying him for someone else was Qiang Di buying the boy for his dragon. He couldn't help but wonder how long that would last for before the blue dragon was left to sort out the bill on his own and more curiously, could the dragon do it? He supposed that it was something that one might see in the future when things started to play out. He couldn't help but wonder though, he knew full well that Qiang Di could be a hard a**, always thinking he had to teach others through being hard on them, something he'd learned personally a long time ago. The pretty boy seemed to be swayed by those in that gang, didn't he? The dragon especially from the sounds of it. He'd feel a touch guilty were he to end up slaying the little brat later, but he supposed that he and Fu Ts'ang could always be there to comfort him later.

Reaching out he picked up his cup of tea, lifting it toward his lips he suddenly gave pause when Qiu Shui was suddenly apologizing to him, saying how he shouldn't talk about other people in front of a guest. He gave a bit of a chuckle, "It's alright, I won't tell anyone that you slipped." He reassured Qiu Shui before he took a sip from his wine, purring as he did so. It was quite good, wasn't it? He was glad that he was staying long enough for the wine, "This is quite good, thank you for suggesting it." He said, reaching out to wrap his arm around Qiu Shui, pulling the boy over to him, "Try not to fret, let us all relax and enjoy this night, it's been far to long since I have been able to just enjoy some free time and I would like to enjoy it with you, Qiu Shui, and with Fu Ts'ang." Which was the truth, as they were right now was quite enjoyable, a situation that he would like to continue on with for a time.

His hold on Qiu Shui was a loose, easy one, but at the same time it was a warm and fairly friendly gesture. He fell quiet to allow the boys to speak, just enjoying the closeness of the dark haired lotus boy and the wine.

Fu Ts'ang looked Dao Ye Shou over, giving the slightly shake of his head as he picked up his tea. So he was cuddly with Qiu Shui, was he? He wasn't sure what he thought of that. Not jealous, he didn't want the man to cuddle him, though from time to time he did like when the man carried him around since it made him feel that much more royal then he already was. Turning to look at Qiu Shui directly when the boy spoke to him he lowered his tea, looking into it for a moment before he said, "I recently shared a cup of tea with a golden haired lotus child who works at an opera house and a ghost." Though that last part he'd been unaware of until the very end of their meeting, talk about oblivious. Oops.

Dao Ye Shou seemed to be relaxing, enjoying the moment and the company, when he felt the way that the boy he was holding onto went from open and friendly to rejecting him with his aura. It was a strange feeling as well as a curious one, one that made him for a moment question why such a thing had happened... but deep down he knew exactly why it was. The closer he got to Qiu Shui the more a rift there would be between the pretty brothel worker and the blue dragon that he thought himself in love with. It was a passing fancy, one that he would shatter one day when he finished off the dragon whose eye he stole. For now though he would allow the boy his foolish dream of being the bride of a dragon he thought to himself, picking up his cup so that he could take a sip of the strong liquid that it held within it.

Fu Ts'ang glanced between the two before him, feeling the sensation of jealousy welling up in him though he wasn't quite sure who it was aimed at. He was either upset with Dao Ye Shou for trying to steal the attention of the boy with the dark hair, that or he was jealous with the dark haired worker for trying to take Dao Ye Shou from him. Didn't the kid know that if Dao Ye Shou was going to serve anyone it would be Fu Ts'ang? His anger at the both of them seemed to fade a little when Qiu Shui shifted away from the older male a bit so that he could talk with him instead. As he started to ask question the pink haired dragon couldn't be anything but pleased, "He wasn't frightening at all, in fact he was as wonderful a servant as anyone could have. He sang beautifully, he followed my lead without question, and he had manners about him that I appreciated." He said, then made a little face, "The one with the golden hair on the other hand, Renshu, he was a crude creature devoid of all manners nor did he know his place." It was grating and made him itch to wrap his hands around that one's throat before shaking him.

Shrugging such feelings off he said, "As for the shows... I suppose he put on a bit of a show while serving the tea. It was the best part of him." That and the fact that the golden haired brat had sold him a bag of treats at a good price. Other then that he was the sort that was better then seen then heard, like any sort of treasure he thought to himself. Perhaps he would be one that Fu Ts'ang would keep as as pet. All he had to do was to cut out his tongue or something he thought to himself idly, a bit of a smirk appearing on his face at the thought.

Fu Ts'ang puffed up a bit at the praise he got from the dark haired boy, finding that he much preferred his attitude to that of Renshu. If one could take Qiu Shui's personality and put it to Renshu's looks he would be perfect he thought to himself idly before he gave a half shrug, "I am a Dragon, I have no reason to fear a mere spirit." He said in his ever arrogant manner, not about to admit that he had zero clue that Liu Sheng had been a ghost until toward the end of the meeting with him. No reason why he should have to admit to such a little detail, let the other boy think him someone brave who shared tea with the dead like it was no big deal.

"You would want to go to the Opera House? Huh... well, he did offer me free tickets if I happened by again, maybe you could go with me or something, you wouldn't have to pay that way." Just in case the show was terrible or boring or something. Fu Ts'ang knew full well that if that were the case that he surely wouldn't want to pay for it. It was something that made it that much nicer that he had those free tickets offered to him. Of course as the other mentioned being too 'worldly' to go to such a place he merely starred, obviously not understanding, "Ahh... alright?" He had zero clue what that meant but if he couldn't go to the Opera House with him then whatever. He supposed he'd much prefer to hang out with someone like Dao Ye Shou, huh? He was the one making the money and paying for this one's time after all. Fu Ts'ang didn't make any money himself so maybe he wasn't the sort that the guy preferred? He might like older men or something? Hell if he knew.

A soft snort came from the dragon before he said, "The company of a rabid wolf would be less irritating... and yet for some reason I find myself with the desire to visit him again nevertheless. It must be some weird streak I have." He muttered, not understanding it himself but he couldn't deny the draw, "I think its the hair, we dragons enjoy our glittering treasure after all, I don't know what else it could be given the desire I have to shake him." The mixed up desire to both be near him as well wanting to strangle him, it made zero sense to the dragon.

Fu Ts'ang starred at Qiu Shui for a long time before dropping his gaze, looking quite confused by it all. Was that why he couldn't stop thinking about Renshu? Was it because the guy was a challenge? He supposed that it could make sense... Perhaps, being a dragon, he wasn't ready to lay back and do nothing? He wanted to deal with Renshu even though he wasn't what one would see as an ideal companion? Why did it have to be such a confusing mess? Why couldn't it make sense to him in a way that other things in the past had? No matter, sitting around doing nothing wasn't going to help to explain to him what was going on in his head, would it? He needed to do more then sit around if he was going to figure it all out.

"I think... I should probable meet with him again, huh? How else will I be able to figure it out." He mused out loud, knowing full well that it wasn't something that would be possible to answer without finding the golden boy again. He just wondered how long it would take before they were at odds with one another once more. He'd give it the span of a few heartbeats at the most, the two of them were so like sheep, wanting nothing more then to slam their heads together.

When Dao Ye Shou was addressed the man sat forward slightly, looking the pink haired dragon over for a long moment, then gave a bit of a chuckle, "I think that the little dragon has his first crush and he just doesn't realize it yet. Young love really is a difficult thing to comprehend and tends to lead you to do very stupid things that will bite you in the a** in the end." He murmured, amused by the way that Fu Ts'ang went wide eyed, mouth dropping over, looking a bit like a struggling fish, at Dao Ye Shou's words. It was clear that the boy hadn't thought of such a thing, nor did he seem pleased over the fact that his guardian had, "Come now, Fu Ts'ang, you can't say that my words are false, can you?"

The dragon shook his head rapidly, "O-Of course there false! How could you think that I would... would... about that guy!?" Never, never, never! He gritted his teeth, "It's merely like Qiu Shui said, it's because he is a challenge, nothing more!" He refused to consider that it was anything else but that he thought to himself in a huff, crossing his arms over his chest, refusing to look at the other two anymore, something that only amused the older man that much more.

Fu Ts'ang's cheeks darkened and he shook his head, "It's not a crush..." He muttered though already he found himself trying to figure out if that was the truth. Surely not... surely he couldn't like someone that annoyed him so much, right? No, no it had to be something else! It was just the challenge of him! Could that cause a crush though? Enjoying being challenged? He had no idea... he just refused to think about it anymore he thought to himself. There were other things to focus on, things that didn't make his head hurt nearly as much. He turned to look over at Qiu Shui as he spoke of another dragon, one that he referred to as 'his dragon', and the fun that they'd had together during a festival. It only made his confusion worse since the time he'd spent with the golden boy was during a festival. He wanted to yell at Qiu Shui, to tell him to stop making it seem romantic. He kept his mouth shut though.

Instead he turned to look at Dao Ye Shou as the pretty boy asked for stories of his adventures and he couldn't help but to feel relief flow through him, "Yes, how about you tell stories next." It would save him from having to tell anymore until he was able to figure things out for himself he decided.

The older man gave a bit of a laugh, wrapping one arm lazily around Qiu Shui before saying, "I can't say that I have too many interesting tales, mine is a pretty dull life for the most part." A complete lie but here and now wasn't the time to really talk about what he did for a living. Best that the boy not see him as something to fear, not when he was doing his best to integrate himself into his life. At first he had been thinking of merely using hi to get to his brother's dragon but now... now he wanted to continue to meet with him. It wasn't anything special, it was the two of them chatting and sharing tea, but Dao Ye Shou rather liked these times he spent with the little flower, "Ahh... what sort of story might you want to hear from a simple man like me? I will try to figure out if I have one worth telling."